💪🏼 🖐🏼 ✍🏻 90s Computer Brands 💭 🤨 🤙🏾

Some companies operating in the computer market in the 90s are still known. However, about 25 years ago there were significantly more of them. Cloud4Y offers a little nostalgia and recall the computer brands that were popular in the 90s. Caution, there will be a lot of photos .

UPD: updated the article by adding Commodore 64 photos fromASh_XX
We will collect the names from the comments to write the second part. Thank you for your interest!

Acer

Acer computers of the 1990s were a typical average. There was nothing outstanding or innovative in them, but the average reliability at a price lower than the average turned out to be the winning formula. This is one of the few surviving computer brands of the 90s that exists (and quite well) to this day.

ALR

ALR sold high-end PCs and was a pioneer in dual-processor systems. The company also begins selling the industry’s first server that will use the power of four 90- or 100-MHz Pentium processors. In January 1997, Advanced Logic Research introduced a desktop computer with two Pentium Pro processors that incorporates fault-tolerant technology borrowed from servers. The basic model with the pre-installed NT Workstation 4.0 operating system in Russia cost, by the way, $ 2395. The company focused primarily on business, so it did not become a famous brand. But she made a significant contribution to the common cause, offering the market working PCs at a modest price. ALR was ultimately acquired by Gateway 2000.

Ambra

In 1992, IBM decided to try direct sales of computers to home users. The company had ideas to buy Gateway 2000, Northgate or Zeos, it even took part in a couple of official discussions. But in the end, IBM decided to take Acer PCs, equip them with Model M keyboards, provide support and service, and sell by mail subscription on behalf of a subsidiary. Alas, the goal of capturing at least 10% of the market was not achieved, and in 1994 AMBRA Computer Corporation closed in the United States, and in 1996 in Canada.

Photo Ambra 486 SLC 50

Apple

Apple is the only company that was founded in the 1970s and still exists. The 90s were difficult for the company (by 1997, losses for two years amounted to $ 1.86 billion), but after the return of Steve Jobs in 1998, things went up for Apple.

AST

In the 80s, AST was a major manufacturer of peripherals, and in the 90s the company grew to its own computers. They offered good reliability of equipment at an average price. But when competitors began to cut prices, AST did not respond. And in the end, brands like Compaq drove them out of the market. In the late 90s, AST changed hands several times, becoming almost invisible in 1998 and completely leaving the market by 2001. In 2014, attempts were made to revive the company.

AST

AT&T

YES, AT&T tried several times to enter the computer market. The AT&T UNIX PC7300 was quite famous. But, like all products of the company, it was focused on the business segment. Therefore, computers under this brand have not become popular. There were also Safari 3151 series laptops on the i486. They have been released since 1994.

AT&T UNIX PC7300

Commodore

In the 80s, Commodore was a very successful brand, producing Amiga home computers that quickly won the love of enthusiasts. Commodore occupied an increasing market share until it became the leader in sales of personal computers in the world and became the Commodore Semiconductor Group corporation. But in early 1994, the company went bankrupt. This was the result of including marketing failures.

Commodore 64 Games System

Commodore 64 ASh_XX

Compaq

Compaq was a well-known company in the 90s. Being initially a premium brand, it began to pursue an aggressive pricing policy in the early 1990s, which allowed it to grow rapidly. For a while, Compaq was the largest computer supplier in the world, and in 1998 released more computers than its three closest competitors combined. The company became part of HP in 2002 after the financial crisis, and in 2010, HP curtailed the brand. The review of one laptop of this firm was on Habré .

Compuadd

CompuAdd was the largest producer of clone computers until 1993. The company had about 200 of its own retail stores that sold exclusively their computers. The main consumers were business, educational and government institutions. CompuAdd servers were unusually good, even surpassing similar Dell Computer products manufactured at the same time. However, in 1993 the company went bankrupt, and in 1994 was purchased by the private Philadelphia investment company Dimeling, Schreiber & Park.

Compuadd 325

YouTube

Compudyne

Compudyne is one of the few well-known computer brands that shone on the market in the late 80s and early 90s. At this time, CompUSA flourished by selling its Compudyne home computers. These were devices manufactured by Acer. They had a more open architecture compared to other computers that came in retail at the time. But this, perhaps, was the only thing that distinguished them. Unable to withstand the price wars of the 90s, Compudyne computers left the market.

Compudyne Model 386SX-25

Dell

One of those rare companies that were known in the 90s, but managed to stay afloat today. Starting a business with sales of cheap clone computers, by the 90s the company had become a powerful supplier of computers for home and business, selling them wholesale and retail. Today, Dell products need no introduction.

Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)

DEC was founded already in 1957. She was remembered as the manufacturer of several very successful lines of PDP mini-computers (the most popular - PDP-11) and Alpha microprocessors that could run Windows NT. In the 90s, Sun Microsystems and DEC were the recognized trendsetters in the world of workstations, representing different technical schools - traditional (DEC) and emerging (Sun). However, additional competition with Intel led to significant financial losses, and as a result, the rich legacy of DEC almost completely disappeared into Compaq, and Compaq then merged into HP.

DEC Digital VAX 4000-100A

Emachines

Emachines entered the market in 1998. The company offered inexpensive Korean computers at a price of 399, 499 and 599 dollars. Aggressive pricing forced competitors to either lower prices or leave the market. Emachines sometimes used AMD or Cyrix processors to achieve the desired price for their products. And this led to the fact that other brands began to do so. Prior to this, the use of AMD processors, and especially Cyrix, was extremely rare. It didn’t really help the dying Cyrix, but AMD built muscle. In 2004, Emachines were bought by Gateway, and subsequently this name was used by both Gateway itself and its successor, Acer.

Fujitsu

In the 1990s, Fujitsu could not be called any significant player in the PC market. However, the company also engaged in the sale of computer devices, and especially actively promoted its laptops. Today, Fujitsu computers are still known in the market. Moreover, the company remains one of the world's largest developers of supercomputers, along with IBM.

Read more: dfarq.homeip.net/90s-computer-brands/#ixzz6GIAHCmnn

Gateway 2000

Gateway 2000 offered good prices, good reliability and excellent customer service. For a while, it was Dell's largest competitor in direct computer sales. For several years, the company operated its own Gateway Country retail chain. To reduce costs, the company reduced the quality of its products. Thanks to excellent customer service, this helped, but not for long. The company began to save on service, after which it began to gradually disappear from the market. In 2004, she teamed up with Emachines to become a leader again, but it did not bring success. It was bought by Acer in 2007.

Gateway 2000 4DX2-50

GATEWAY 2000 P4D-66 486-DX @ 66Mhz

HP

Another rare computer brand that existed three decades earlier. HP is known primarily for its printers, but in the 90s the company had at least two very successful lines of computers: Vectra for business and Pavilion for home. Now HP is doing quite well, having formed two independent areas of work, creating products for private users and for business.

Ibm

IBM is one of the most famous computer brands of the 90s. Although they did not dominate as much as they did in the 1980s, they were still present both in the business segment and in retail. Business PCs were represented by the PS / 2, PS / Valuepoint, and IBM Series. Home users were offered IBM PS / 1 and Aptiva. IBM survived the 1990s, but left the computer market in 2005 for a number of different reasons. IBM still exists today, but has little to do with the market it helped create.

Laser

Laser was a trademark of V-Tech, a manufacturer of cordless phones and baby electronics. V-Tech offered XT-class clone computers, as well as Apple II clones. Laser products were heard in the 80s, but in the next decade, these computers could be seen in stores. Now this company is again working in the children's electronics segment.

Leading edge

A company founded in the 80s and surviving in the 90s thanks to joining Daewoo. The company first sold computer peripherals, and then machines based on the 386s. The cost of one of the computers in 1993 ranged from 1299.99 to 2199.99 dollars. In 1994, Leading Edge sold 185,000 of its PC clones to the United States, but in 1995, sales fell from 90,000 in the first half to nearly zero in the second. By 1997, Leading Edge, unable to compete with Compaq and other companies, ceased to exist.
Not too good video review Leading Edge WinPro 486e

Leading technology

In the 386/486 era, V-Tech also sold computers under the Leading Technology brand through retail chains like Best Buy. The brand did not last long, disappearing from the market by about 1992.

Leading Technology 9000LT

Magnavox

In the early 1990s, the consumer electronics giant Philips launched a series of 286, 386 and 486 computers as part of a joint venture with Vendex, selling them under the Magnavox and Headstart brands in retail stores. But, since Philips sold monitors and peripherals much more successfully, the Magnavox / Headstart computers were quietly taken off the market in 1992.

Magnavox Headstart SX HS1600GY01

MagnavoxHeadStart 286

Micron

Micron's memory maker has been manufacturing computers for much of the 1990s, usually combining Intel motherboards and processors with Micron memory, Creative Labs audio, and other premium components. They offered good cars, but in the end they found that the profit didn't even smell, so it was decided to curtail the project. Micron sold the line in 2001, and a separate company, MPC computers, ceased operations in 2008. Parent company Micron Technology and a subsidiary company Crucial Technology have survived to this day, but they sell memory and solid state drives.

Micron system unit

Ncr

NCR has been in the business of selling computers for most of the 1980s. It offered PC-compatible AT-class computers and devices based on 386 and 486 Intel processors. In 1991, it was acquired by AT&T, where it was merged into a common division with the Teradata database machine manufacturer, but since 1997 it regained its independence. Now NCR specializes in computing for the retail, banking, financial, travel and medical industries.

NCR System 3230

Nec

NEC, better known for its high-quality monitors, has been manufacturing computers for most of the 90s. But these devices were not so good, so the company never had at least any significant market share. The only exceptions were NEC laptops. The company ceased its activities in the computer market in the early 2000s.

NEC PC-9801RX2

Northgate

Northgate, better known for its keyboards, sold computers by mail until it went bankrupt in 1994. The cost of the Power Max 386/33, which Northgate Computer began selling in 1990, started at $ 3,999. For this money, a version based on the Intel 80386 processor with a 200 megabyte hard drive, 16 megabytes of RAM, with the Microsoft 3.0 operating system was offered. Plus - floppy drives for 3.5 and 5.25 floppy disks.

Packard bell

In 1986, a group of Israeli investors bought the Packard Bell brand to create a new IBM PC-compatible computer company. Packard Bell has become a popular budget brand; Best Buy and Circuit City have sold millions of these machines. But quality problems and the accusation that he gave out used parts as new, have finished the company. In the late 90s acquired by NEC. In 2008, Packard Bell was acquired by Acer Inc.

Packard bell r500

Quantex

Quantex was a small company that could never equal Dell and Gateway sales. However, she did offer high-quality machines using proprietary components. Moreover, Quantex received many awards from major computer magazines of the time for build quality and impressive performance. Computer enthusiasts greatly appreciated this technique. Quantex filed for bankruptcy in the summer of 2000.

Samsung

In the 90s, Samsung made computers, but could not achieve the same success with them as with household appliances and electronics. It turned out that Samsung gets more benefits from the creation of computer equipment for other companies than from independent sales. Although Samsung laptops can be seen today.

Sharp

Like Samsung, Sharp sold TVs more successfully than computers. The company also released laptops. So, in 1996 in Russia it was possible to buy a Sharp laptop PC-3000 series at a price of $ 2399 to $ 2999. There were also PDA models, for example, the Sharp PC-E500S.

Sharp PC-8650

Sony

Sony was a rare consumer electronics company that successfully sold computers. Sony began producing personal computers in 1980, primarily for the Japanese market. In the early 1990s, the company curtailed production in this direction and returned in 1996 under the VAIO brand. She left the market only after 18 years, in 2014.

Tandy

Tandy is another successful company from the 80s that barely lived in the 90s. In March 1988, Tandy acquired Grid Systems Corporation, a manufacturer of laptops and tablets, which made it short-lived to produce Tandy 1100FD and Tandy 1100HD laptops. The 1100th notebook series, launched in 1989, was based on the popular NEC V20 processor operating at 8 MHz. In 1993, Tandy sold its entire AST computer business, after which all Tandy series computers were discontinued.

Tandy 1000

Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments entered the computer market in 1979, offering models for home use and business. For years, the company successfully manufactured and sold PC-compatible laptops, but in 1998 TI left the market and sold its Acer product line. It's funny that the founders of Compaq came from TI.

Texas Instruments TravelMate 4000M

Toshiba

Toshiba laptops were popular in the 1990s and remain so until today. The company regularly introduced interesting new products to the market. For example, in 1991 it released the T 3200 SXC, the world's first mass-produced notebook with a color active matrix. In 1992, the world's first laptop with integrated PCMCIA connectors (T 3300 SL). In 1993 - T 3400 ST, an ultraportable computer with a color active matrix. In 1994 - the first laptop with an Intel Pentium processor (model T 4900 ST), and so on. That Toshiba is still alive, you probably know without me.

Toshiba T3200SXC

Winbook

Winbook was one of the first laptop manufacturers compatible with the IBM PC. Mark several times passed from hand to hand, but exists today. In the 90s, the company became the daughter of Micro Electronics. In 1997, she released her first ultra-thin laptop, which was 4 cm thick and weighed about 2.3 kg with an installed floppy disk drive or CD-ROM drive. Winbooks could be seen in stores later. For example, the X610 came out in 2006. In principle, we can say that the company is still alive today. Her tablet computers can be found on the same Amazon.

Winbook XP5

Zenith Data Systems (ZDS)

A well-known manufacturer of TVs was actively engaged in the sale of computers in the 90s. The company entered the market in 1977. The first ZDS computers were pre-installed versions of Heathkit computers. The company worked closely with Microsoft, computers and laptops of this company had a unique opportunity to debug the program by pressing the combination Ctrl + Alt + Ins. In October 1989, Zenith sold the ZDS to the French company Groupe Bull, as it lost a lot of money due to an unfavorable contract with the US Air Force. In order to somehow reduce losses, in the 90s the company produced very cheap computers with motherboards, which were often out of the box and required on-site service, often by a third party. Despite this manufacturer’s reputation,Groupe Bull continued to sell personal computers called Zenith Data Systems until 1996, when ZDS merged with Packard Bell and NEC to create Packard Bell NEC Inc.

Review of a laptop Zenith Z-Note Flex on Habr

Zeos

Zeos was a company better known for its keyboards than computers. The first computer released by this company was sold in November 1987, and in the mid-1990s Zeos offered Pentium-based desktop PCs (Pantera) and laptops (Freestyle, Meridian, and ColorNote). There was also Zeos Pocket PC - a handheld computer weighing 600 grams. Computers were very good, they even earned media acclaim (“Editors' Choice” of PC Magazine in the issue of January 30, 1990). Zeos merged with Micron in 1996.

Zeos Pocket PC

Perhaps I didn’t remember everything that was on the market at that time. I will be glad if you complete this article.

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90s Computer Brands